In order to share experiences and achievements for the federal public administration’s transition towards results-based management, the Seminar on Building a Monitoring and Evaluation System Based on Results was held, organized by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), in coordination with the Ministries of Social Development, Finance (SHCP) and Public Administration (SFP), and the World Bank.

Various federal government employees participated in this forum interested on strengthening results-based management, for evaluating the government's performance is a social demand that cannot be delayed, assured Salvador Vega Casillas, Subsecretary of Public Function.

In his intervention, CONEVAL Executive Secretary, Gonzalo Hernández Licona, assured: "Today, we know well certain aspects of social programs such as: amounts spent, budget percentage spent during the year, number of services or programs delivered, sales, microcredit, etc., but we don't always know the most relevant part: the results indicators that tell us how much malnutrition or mother mortality have decreased, among others. In conclusion, it is necessary to know and strengthen results-based management in order to have a better management, a better budgeting, a better evaluation and a greater transparency."

"To evaluate federal programs, the SHCP and CONEVAL will establish the methodology for the elaboration of the indicator matrix, which will allow a logical and orderly description of the impact, outcomes, outputs, activities, indicators, goals, means of verification and results. Based on this matrix we will be able to supervise the alignment of budgetary and sectorial programs to the national objectives and strategies established in the National Development Plan, as well as to define annual programs based on recommendations and release their results", specified Ernesto Cordero Arroyo, Undersecretary of Expenses of the Mexican Ministry of the Finance.
 

On the other hand, Félix Vélez Fernández Varela, SEDESOL's Subsecretary of Prospective, Planning and Evaluation, said that the effectiveness and efficiency of federal programs is an essential task.

"The main issue is to improve public policy... we should not ignore that the final objective is to improve the quality of public expenditure, to enhance public welfare and reduce each country's poverty. The point is that there is a greater pressure by the citizenship to make accountability more transparent, and a need to extend the coverage of the public sector's programs. This need also requires maintaining the balance of macro-economic resources: we need to spend less in times of crisis and manage better in times of prosperity," said Jaime Saavedra, World Bank Poverty and Gender Manager for Latin America, during his intervention.

Also participating in the seminar on behalf of the World Bank were: Keith MacKay, Operations Evaluation Department Evaluation Senior Officer; and Fernando Rojas, Lead Public Sector Management Specialist for Latin America.

Attending as Ministry of Social Development representative was Gloria Rubio Soto, in charge of the Evaluation and Monitoring of Social Programs General Office, who presented the Ministry's advancements in the matter.